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Sep. 5--NEW YORK -- Maybe it wasn't the decisive point of the evening, but this 35-stroke rally down the homestretch of the first blockbuster match of the women's tournament said a lot about why Amelie Mauresmo overcame Serena Williams and moved into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Monday night.
Mauresmo had lost nine of 10 previous matches to the two-time Open winner, but on this tennis-perfect night, with about 20,000 fans in the Arthur Ashe Stadium court galvanized for an American victory, the Frenchwoman's tactical tennis finally overcame Williams' blunt power.
This final major of the season marks the one-year anniversary of Mauresmo first ascent to No. 1 in the world and, even with an embarrassing shutout in the second set, she showed the staying power and confidence that comes with being at the top of the rankings to win 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.
"Maybe I might have reacted differently before," she acknowledged. "Now, I just try to keep loose and relaxed."
Williams slugged 23 winners to Mauresmo's 12, but it was Mauresmo's ability to change speeds, slice backhands and continually topspin balls out of Serena's strike zone that made the difference.
That long, mesmerizing rally came with Williams serving at 2-3 and 15-30 in the final set and the audience gasping as the women retrieved ball after ball until Mauresmo sent one deep to the backhand corner, which Williams popped into the net.
Mauresmo seized the break with another deep approach shot that forced a backhand error, then held to 5-2 and broke one last time for the win.
With the Open's focus being almost entirely on the Andre Agassi retirement saga, the women's tournament has been virtually forgotten this fortnight.
But things began crackling Monday with No. 3 Maria Sharapova rallying back from a 1-4 deficit in the first set to beat Li Na 6-4, 6-2, about an hour before Mauresmo checked in with her win.
On the men's side, Andy Roddick drew within one win of a semifinal with Rafael Nadal that USTA officials feel certain would register about a 9.0 on the TV Richter scale. Roddick defeated Agassi-conqueror Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
Meanwhile, Nadal breezed through Jiri Novak to also reach the quarters and will next play unseeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia. Roddick will play Lleyton Hewitt, who beat Richard Gasquet in five sets.
In the top half of the men's draw, Marat Safin, the tournament's No. 1 floater, played his best tennis of the tournament in beating Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 while Robby Ginepri, badly in need of a major win, came close again but was beaten after badly playing a fifth-set tiebreak. The score was 7-6 (1), 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 (1).
The top four women seeds are through to the quarters with No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne playing immaculate tennis to defeat rising Israeli star Shahar Peer 6-1, 6-0, winning 19 of 20 points at net.
And No. 4 Elena Dementieva defeated unseeded Arazane Rezai 7-5, 6-4. Also through to the quarters: Former U.S. Open winner No. 10 Lindsay Davenport, Safin's sister No. 12 Dinara Safina, Tatiana Golovin and the surprise of the tournament, Jelena Jankovic.
Mauresmo had a terrible time returning serve, especially in the ad court, in the second set, but began blocking them back in the third, and it proved effective.
"I just got down an early break and I guess the blocking became more and more ... more balls being blocked back. Just a game I hadn't worked on in a long time," said Williams.
Williams didn't look slow and she hit the ball with power and was effective serving. But she seemed to tire badly on the long rally point, winning only three points after that.
This is only her 16th match.
"I was playing a little too far behind the baseline," Williams said of the long rally. "I guess she was like that Pong thing on the Andy Roddick commercial."
She hasn't lost her sense of humor, even if she has lost her way in the Slams. Injuries kept her from playing the French Open or Wimbledon and she lost in the round of 32 at the Australian and the fourth round here.
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Copyright (c) 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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